06/05/2026
📣 Calling all HKU students (and interdisciplinary minds)!
This summer, step out of the classroom and into a real-life impact project in rural China.
🛠️ 2026 Summer Workshop Interdisciplinary Capacity Building in an Aging Cave Village — Building Household Toilets —
📅 Workshop Dates: 4 – 17 July 2026 (2 weeks)
Location: Zhoushan Village (周山村), Henan Province
Who can join?
Interdisciplinary students (Architecture, Engineering, Medicine, Business, Social Sciences, Arts, Sciences — total ~35 people). Open to HKU and beyond!
Work hand-in-hand with local craftsmen and villagers to design and build tailor-made, sustainable household toilets — tackling a long-standing rural sanitation challenge through participatory design and local materials. )
What’s in store? Here’s the schedule & what you’ll learn:
• 4–5 July (2 days) – Learning from Villagers
• 6–8 July (3 days) – Testing Skills with Craftsmen
• 9–15 July (7 days) – Building with Craftsmen
• 16–17 July (2 days) – Sharing & Reflection
What you’ll gain:
✅Leadership skills in team-work
✅Deepen cultural-social-economic-environmental knowledge about community sustainable development
✅Hands-on making and design skill
✅Critical thinking about practicing in the real-world
✅ Optional 2 academic credits (1000 words of reflection needs to be submitted at the end of workshop.)
Special support for HKU undergraduates: HKD 2,500 transportation + HKD 2,500 accommodation/facility support from the Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Fund. All construction costs covered.
Workshop led by: Asst. Prof. Kuo Jze Yi (Department of Architecture, HKU & Principal Investigator, Local Practice)
Organised by: Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Centre (HKU), Department of Architecture (HKU), Local Practice (HKU), and Zhoushan Community
Watch the village & accommodation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfXFzi98y0c
Watch the craftsmen in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i59QTZvwx64
How to apply: Scan the QR code on the poster or fill in the Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe59VchG1ZqQlo7yh115MXPTBw2VQUE-buzDqn_nAVtIcGJLg/viewform?usp=header
Spots are limited — don’t miss this unique opportunity!
